


5 times Chat failed to reveal his identity to Ladybug and the 1 time he succeeded

by sagansjagger



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: 5 Times, 5+1 Things, Crack, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28005255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagansjagger/pseuds/sagansjagger
Summary: Adrien couldn't believe it.He'd finally figured out Ladybug's identity! And she was none other than the amazing, incredible, adorable Marinette Dupain-Cheng!Now all he has to do is reveal himself...---Or, the crack escapades of Adrien Agreste as he tries to counter Plagg's bad luck curse and reveal himself to his Lady.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 36
Kudos: 228





	5 times Chat failed to reveal his identity to Ladybug and the 1 time he succeeded

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [5 times Chat failed to reveal his identity to Ladybug and the 1 time he succeeded/5 раз, когда Коту не удавалось раскрыть свою личность перед Ледибаг и 1 раз, когда он смог](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28051644) by [SylvanFaustGo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SylvanFaustGo/pseuds/SylvanFaustGo)



Adrien didn’t know why he hadn’t seen it before.

They had the same build. The same voice. The same _pigtails_ , for crying out loud. 

“Plagg,” Adrien said, staring at his shaking hands in the middle of his room. “Marinette is Ladybug. Ladybug is Marinette.”

“That’s right, Kid,” Plagg said, taking a huge bite of the wheel of camembert on Adrien’s pillow. “You finally used your one braincell.”

Adrien was too excited from learning his Lady’s identity to take offense. He jumped into the air, pumping his fist. “Plagg! Ladybug is Marinette! Marinette is Ladybug! This is great!”

“Yeah?” Plagg drawled, shaking his bulbous head. “And what are you going to do about that?”

Adrien beamed. This day, December 10, was going down in his diary as the best day of his life: the day he figured out Ladybug’s identity. And of course she was the amazing, incredible, adorable Marinette! “Reveal myself, of course!”

“Oh?” Plagg said, dragging his tongue across the camembert in a long, lazy lick and grossing Adrien out. “How?”

That brought Adrien up short. “I’ll… I’ll think of something.” He clenched a fist in front of him. “And it’ll be great, Plagg, just you wait.”

Plagg snorted. “I’m sure it will be.”

Adrien frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You think you’re the only kitten of mine who’s tried to reveal himself to Tikki’s chosen with something over the top?” Plagg floated off the cheese and over to Adrien. “You’re the poster boy for bad luck, Kid.” 

Plagg flicked Adrien in the nose, causing him to grumble, “It’ll be fine, Plagg. You’ll see.”

Plagg offered him a toothy grin. “Oh, I’m looking forward to it.”

***

The first time Chat tried to reveal himself to his Lady, he’d set up a romantic brunch for them at one of Paris’ premier breakfast spots. She’d only agreed to the not-date because he’d assured her that this was, indeed, a not-date, and he had no desire to date her.

That was a bald-faced lie. He wanted to date her, wanted that more than anything, but Chat chose to respect Ladybug’s not-date conditions. _Maybe she’ll change her mind once she sees who I am?_ he wondered, staring at her with a dopey, loving smile. _Adrien Agreste isn’t so bad, right?_

The waiter took their menus. Chat had bribed the restaurant owner to keep the not-date a secret to the paparazzi, and the owner had responded by shutting the entire place down. It was just Chat and Ladybug, facing each other in the outdoor seating.

“Well, Chat?” Ladybug said quietly, once the waiter had left. The indulgent look she was bestowing upon him gave him a hope he dared not name. “What did you want to talk to me about? It seems important.”

Chat took her spotted hand into his own. “Ladybug, I want to tell you something very, very important. Do you trust me?”

“With my life,” Ladybug answered immediately, giving him a fierce, determined glare. Her bluebell eyes sparkled, and Chat fell in love with her all over again. “What is it you need to tell me?”

“Well,” Chat said, not wishing to beat around the bush. “I’m--”

 _Whiiiiiiiiirrrrrr_! A man using a leaf blower walked beside them, blowing the wet leaves from the sidewalk into the street. The noise was loud enough that Chat could barely think. 

The maintenance worker turned away from them, scattering leaves everywhere. “Excuse me!” Chat yelled, but the man couldn’t hear them over the noise and his ear-protecting headphones. “Hey! Excuse me!”

A loud _whiiiiiiiiirrrrrr_! was Chat’s only response. He turned back to Ladybug. “I’m Adrien Agreste!”

Ladybug mouthed a ‘what?’ At least, that’s what Chat thought she may have said.

 _Whiiiiiiiiirrrrrr_!

Chat released her hand and pounded on his chest. “Me! I’m Adrien Agreste!”

Ladybug shook her head, mouthing ‘Kneecap! Ferrets!’

 _What?_ Chat scrunched up his brow. The leaf blower buzzed right next to their outdoor seats, destroying his ear drums. "I'm Adrien! Adrien Agreste!"

She mouthed the words again. Chat belatedly realized Ladybug was saying, 'Sorry, Chaton!’

Chat sighed. By the time the maintenance worker had moved on, taking his stupidly loud contraption with him, Chat had lost his nerve to reveal himself.

_Looks like Plagg was right about bad luck._

Ladybug sipped her water. The leaf blower _whiiiiiirrrred_ in the distance. "What was it you wanted to tell me, Chat?" 

Chat took Ladybug's hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles. "Just that you're incredible and I am lucky to know you."

"I'm flattered, Chat," Ladybug said, extricating her hand. "But you didn't have to invite me to brunch to tell me that."

"Yeah," Chat mumbled. "I know." 

_Back to the drawing board…_

***

The second time Adrien planned to reveal himself, he'd managed to get Ladybug alone with him in his civilian form. He'd spotted--ha!--her on a rooftop near the school, relaxing on their break, and had climbed up to see her.

"Ladybug?" Adrien said quietly, approaching her from behind. She was sitting on the edge of the rooftop, her legs dangling off the eaves, and turned to face him. 

Shock was painted on her features. "A-Adrien?" she said, her brows raised. "What are you doing up here?"

"I wanted to talk to you,” Adrien said, settling in beside her on the roof. She scooted over to make room. “First, I have to ask. Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do,” Ladybug said, her cheeks dusted with a dusky rose color. Her lips parted slightly, and Adrien wanted nothing more in that moment than to kiss her. He leaned towards her, she leaned towards him… 

_Focus, Adrien!_ he chastised himself, pulling back. He took her spotted hand and her face glowed like a traffic light. “I… I wanted to tell you that--”

“Adrien!” she shrieked, leaping to her feet and dragging him with her. “Look out!”

But it was too late. Without his superhuman reflexes, Adrien was unable to dodge out of the way of the akuma’s blast. Purple power washed over him like a torrent, making him feel like a drowning man gasping for air.

Then his face did a curious thing. Skin knitted itself over his mouth, closing his lips and sealing them entirely. He was completely unable to speak. “Mmph!”

“Nyahahaha!” the akuma said, shooting another blast at Ladybug, who did a back handspring out of the way. “Just you wait, Ladybug! You won’t be able to summon your Lucky Charm once I’m done with you!”

“We’ll see about that!” Ladybug said, and swung off the roof, leading the akuma on a merry chase.

Plagg phased out of Adrien’s pocket with a cackle. “Ohhhh, my goodness.”

“Mmph! Mmph, mmph, mmph!”

“Yes, Kid, I know,” Plagg said, a grin splitting his face. “You can’t even transform!”

Adrien furrowed his brow and stepped back. He hadn’t considered that. “Mmph.”

“Don’t worry. Ladybug will defeat the akuma without your help, and then you can confess, right?”

Adrien folded his arms and concentrated on breathing through his nose before he passed out. “Mmph.”

_That’s the plan._

Plagg was right - Ladybug defeated the akuma, probably faster than she would have with Chat by her side, a fact that smarted like nothing else. But by the time she’d cast her Miraculous Cure, the school bell was ringing. Lunch break was over.

Adrien filtered into the class with everyone else, spotting Marinette in her usual seat. Frustrated, he sighed.

_Next time will go better…_

***

“Are you sure?” Marinette squeaked, her face blooming like a peony. 

Adrien nodded, taking her hand in his. She’d asked him out after school, and he was beyond pleased with this turn of events. “Absolutely positively. I would love to go on a date with you, Marinette. Where would you like to go?”

Marinette beamed at him. “There’s an event going on at the city center I’d like to see. It’s on Saturday, so maybe we can meet up there at noon?”

“Sounds great,” Adrien purred, trying to turn the patented Chat Noir charm up to eleven. “I’ll go where you go. Text me the address?”

Marinette giggled. “Sure.”

Saturday took its sweet time arriving. Marinette took her sweet time texting him the address, almost as if she’d lost her nerve instead of him. Adrien took his sweet time styling his hair on the morning of their date while Plagg laughed at him.

“You’ll see, Plagg, it’ll be great,” Adrien said, squeezing the bottle of expensive product into his palm. He smoothed the gel into his hair and combed his fingers through it, feathering the golden strands. Looking at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, Adrien gave himself finger guns. “I’ll show up as Chat Noir and she’ll have to know it’s me!”

“Sure, Kid,” Plagg said, smirking from his place on Adrien’s faucet. “I’m super sure it’ll work out this time.”

“Your vote of confidence is so reassuring, Plagg,” Adrien said dryly, slanting a look at his kwami. 

“That’s me, the reassuring one,” Plagg snarked, a fang poking out of his lip.

Plagg’s expression was so smarmy, Adrien couldn’t stand it. “Whatever! Claws out!”

Plagg cackled as he spiraled into Adrien’s ring. Adrien took extra pleasure in going through the motions of his transformation this time, knowing he’d soon be revealing his identity to his Lady. He clawed at the air, ending with his feet shoulder-length apart and his hands up near his head. 

Chat examined himself in the mirror, flexing and kissing his biceps. “Go get her, you lady killer, you.”

Chat tapped the address from his phone into his baton and pulled up the map of Paris on the screen. He left his phone at home and pole vaulted over to the city center. 

People in costumes surrounded the massive building Marinette wanted to meet at, waiting in some sort of queue to get inside. Some of the people were arrayed in professional-looking costumes from animes and video games, whereas others looked more like Cardboard Noir. _Is this… some sort of convention?_

Chat landed in a nearby alleyway and strolled towards the building, twirling his baton in one hand. He spotted several Ladybugs and not a few Chat Noirs. 

Finding Marinette took a while longer than he thought it would; she seemed to be dressed as a witch, complete with stuffed animal black cat familiar. At least, he thought the girl standing at the front of the line was her. “Marinette?” he asked, tilting his head. “Is that you?”

“Adrien?” she said, turning to him with a smile. Then her eyes widened. “Oh, wow! I didn’t know you were a fan of Chat! Your costume looks great!”

“Fan?” Adrien blinked at her. “No, no, I’m actually Chat.”

Marinette gave him a slow once over that ended in a slightly skeptical look, even though she was still smiling. “And I’m really a witch. I do have to admit your costume looks… pretty lifelike.”

Chat sighed and offered her his arm. “I’m sure it does.”

_Next time for sure…_

***

Adrien had to admit, he’d enjoyed his date with Marinette at the con. She was a fun girl to be around, starting up a running commentary on the costumes other people wore and their construction. She’d explained cosplay techniques Adrien had never heard of and wouldn’t have even thought of, like sculpting armor out of EVA foam due to the material being strong, flexible, and cheap.

But this time he was going to reveal himself. He had to. He _must_.

He’d squished himself into a Chat Noir-themed pop out cake made of cardboard but with real black-and-acid-green buttercream frosting. To overcome his claustrophobia, Adrien had taken a powerful antihistamine and had fallen asleep while waiting to be delivered to Marinette’s house.

Now he was wide awake, having felt the movers carry him around and eventually set him down on a floor. He panted, clenching and unclenching his fists in an effort to remain calm. His heart rattled around in his ribcage and ended up in his throat.

Adrien heard a man’s voice inquiring after the movers, and a confused girl asking who the cake was for.

“Are you sure it’s for you, sweetling?” said the man, who Adrien assumed was Marinette’s father, Tom.

“I’m not sure,” the girl said. “But the frosting is delicious. Do you think--”

“Surprise!” Adrien shrieked as he burst from the cake, though his voice was on the breathy and thready side. Someone screamed, high-pitched and piercing, and continued screaming. 

His vision swam and blackened at the edges, and he swayed on his feet, leaning over the top of the cake and catching himself on the frosting. Adrien was elbow-deep by the time he stood to survey the opulent room.

 _This… is not the bakery._

The marble floor gleamed in the weak, winter sunlight and the gorgeous lights hanging above them. A double staircase with red carpeting and a black, wrought-iron railing rested at the back of the room. A table with a massive bouquet of roses sat in the middle.

And standing in front of him was Mayor Bourgeois and his daughter, Chloé. Chloé was still screaming. She pointed at Adrien with a manicured nail. “Adrien Agreste,” she demanded, “what the ever loving _heck_ do you think you’re doing?”

“Uhhh,” Adrien said eloquently. “Surprise?”

“Oh, my gosh,” Chloé said, rubbing her temples. “You nearly gave Daddy a heart attack.”

“Actually, I’m fine,” the mayor said, holding up a finger. “I’m just--”

“Do you _hear_ how distraught he is?” Chloé said, resting the back of her wrist across her head. “I don’t know what possessed you to pull this kind of a prank on us, _Adrien_ , but whatever it was, I’ll have none of it!”

“I think the movers may have mixed up the shipping address,” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head and accidentally smearing frosting in his hair. “Sorry, Chloé, I… I don’t know what happened.”

“And you chose a Chat Noir-themed cake?” Chloé said, stomping her foot. “Why on earth--”

“Hahaha!” Adrien forced out a laugh. “Why would you think this is a Chat Noir cake? It’s not a Chat Noir cake.”

“Err,” Mayor Bourgeois said, blinking owlishly. “It’s not?”

Chloé frowned fiercely. She dipped her finger in the frosting and waved it under Adrien’s nose. “You literally have the word ‘MOOD’ with pawprints for the Os. Who was the cake for, Adrien?”

“Uhhhhh,” Adrien said again, his face burning now that he was no longer panicked. “I can’t tell you, Chlo. Just trust me when I say I never meant to scare you.”

“You owe me for my silence, Adrien,” Chloé said, reaching up to poke him in the chest. “This is super embarrassing, so you owe me big.”

Adrien bit his lip. “I know, Chlo. I know.”

_Next time…_

***

On another date with Marinette, Adrien was on cloud nine--even though there were no clouds above them. The sky was clear and perfect for his plan. 

He and Marinette had spent the morning tracking down André, and had found him at the Pont de Arts bridge, where he often liked to set up his cart of ice creams. Marinette shyly explained to Adrien that the ice cream flavor she usually received resembled him, and he was flattered. His flavors this time--blueberry, blackberry, and peach--resembled her instead of Ladybug, and Adrien wondered at the change.

But he didn’t have a chance to wonder for long. The next part of his plan was almost starting. Adrien watched the sky obsessively, waiting for the airline pilot he’d hired to skywrite the special message.

“What are you looking for, Adrien?” Marinette said, her eyes crinkling around the corners as she beamed at him. “You’ve been watching the sky all morning.”

“It’s a surprise,” Adrien said, gently wiping ice cream off the corner of her lip. He’d prefer to kiss it off, but he didn’t know if they were at that stage of their relationship yet. _Probably not._ “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

Just as his ice cream started melting onto his hand, Adrien’s enhanced hearing picked up the sound of engines buzzing in the air. He jumped to his feet from his seat on the bridge, grasping the railing and craning his neck to search for the plane.

Then Marinette’s ringtone _deet deet deedled_ away in her purse. Adrien turned to her. _No, no, no!_ She set her ice cream down on the bench and fished her phone out. “It’s Maman.”

“Go ahead and answer,” Adrien said, setting his ice cream next to hers. He turned his face to the sky again and saw the small skywriter he’d hired start to leave trails across the sky.

“J, E, S, U, I, S,” Adrien read, muttering under his breath as Marinette chattered away about their date to her mom. “Good, good.”

Soon, the message was complete. “JE SUIS CHAT NOIR PRES DE VOUS!” it read, or “I am Chat Noir near you!” Despite the message being awkward due to space constraints, the writing was crisp and clear and perfect. 

Adrien pumped his fist. _Yes. She’ll have to see it now._

Adrien glanced to Marinette, who was just putting her phone away. “Marinette, look!” Adrien cried, pointing up, but it was too late. Before Marinette could squint up at the sky, a violent wind picked up, blowing all around them. Adrien’s hair was whipped around his face, obscuring his vision.

Stormy Weather cackled as she zipped past the bridge. _Oh, no,_ Adrien thought. “Marinette, look!”

Adrien peered at the message. With the wind having blown some of the letters away, it read, “JE SUIS C O R P S!”

“‘I am corpse’?” Marinette said, her voice thick with disbelief. Adrien groaned. “That’s not what you intended, right?”

“Not at all,” Adrien said, heaving a sigh. _I’m cursed. That’s all there is to it._

“My mom, on the phone, you see, wanted me to come home!” Marinette said, shooting up from her position on the bench. “Nothing to do with the akuma, of course, but you should probably get home, too, okay, Adrien?”

“Yes,” Adrien said, his shoulders slumped. “I’ll see you later?” 

“Sure,” Marinette said, her eyes already darting off towards where Stormy Weather had flown off. Marinette had her Ladybug-game face on, and she looked ready to destroy an evil butterfly rather than purifying it. “You be safe, okay?”

“Yeah,” Adrien said, already turning away to search for a place where he could transform. “See you.”

_I… I give up._

***

“Do you trust me?” Chat asked Ladybug, taking her spotted hand in his. They were alone on top of the Eiffel Tower at midnight the night they’d fought Stormy Weather after their ill-fated skywriting date. Adrien couldn’t wait any longer, so he’d transformed and called Ladybug up on his baton to meet him on the Tower in the middle of the night.

“With my life,” Ladybug said, inclining her head. 

“I have something I want to tell you,” Chat said, wincing. He was ready for Plagg’s bad luck to curse him again, though he couldn’t see exactly how that would happen in the middle of the night so high up. 

“Clearly you do, Chat,” Ladybug said, chuckling. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have called me at midnight.”

“I think I figured out why I’ve failed so far,” Chat said, brushing her knuckles with his lips. “I haven’t asked your permission.”

“Permission for what?”

Chat drew a deep breath through his nose. “To reveal myself to you. I’ve figured out your identity, Bug. I know who you are.”

Ladybug gasped. Rather than pulling away, as he expected, she stepped in closer. “You have?” she breathed. “And you want to tell me who you are now? You want to be here with me despite knowing my identity?”

“More than anything,” Chat whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. “You’re the Guardian now. You make the rules. You get to tell me whether you want to know who I am or not. You get to tell me to leave or to stay. You get to tell me whatever you want.”

Ladybug pulled back. “I think I’m ready, Chat. Tell me who you are.”

Chat closed his eyes. “Thank you.” He opened them again. “I’m Adrien, Marinette. Adrien Agreste.”

“It’s you?” Marinette breathed, cupping his cheeks. “It’s really you, Adrien?”

“Yes,” Adrien whispered. “It’s me.” 

Her eyes shone in the dim lighting. She leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose. “I’m glad it’s you. I’m glad you told me.”

Tears stung Chat’s eyes. He’d done it. He’d finally done it. Now there were no secrets between him and his Lady--or, at least, none that he knew about. “For the record,” he said, offering her a crooked smile, “I’m glad it’s you, too.”

“How long have you known?” Ladybug asked, her breath escaping her mouth in a thick, white puff of condensation. “I didn’t even suspect you were Chat.”

“Well,” Chat said, rubbing the back of his head. “Remember the leaf blower?”

“That far back, huh?” Ladybug said, chuckling. “I knew you had something to tell me other than me being incredible.”

“Yeah,” Chat said, shaking his head. “And you haven’t even heard about the cake yet.”

“The cake?” Ladybug said, a wicked smile curving her lips. “I’m all ears, Chaton.”

Hearing that was all Adrien had ever wanted. He’d succeeded. He’d beaten Plagg’s bad luck.

And all he needed to do was ask permission.

 _Lesson learned, Plagg,_ Chat thought, beaming down at his lady. _Lesson definitely learned._

**Author's Note:**

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> 
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